Airbags move to airplanes.

• Author: Foster, Sharon
• Position: Tech Talk

The notion that an airbag can save the lives of car drivers and passengers also could be applied to airplanes. That is the marketing pitch from Amsafe Aviation, in Phoenix. Australia's Gippsland Aeronautics will be the first to install Amsafe's Aviation Inflatable Restraint (AAIR) on its GA-8 six-passenger aircraft.

The deployment of the airbag slows the body's movement forward, reducing the head impact, explained Amsafe's Zane Leake. Also, he noted, the cushion of air contained in the airbag allows the person to collide into a soft bag rather than a hard surface.

The AAIR -- already FAA certified -- resembles a normal seat belt in size and shape, but it contains an airbag that...